A Man Called Riley
by super ario
Summary: Waking up in the hospital sucks. HIATUS.


Wooh. I got this laptop now, yeah. I felt like writing, too. I bet you're wondering why I'm starting another story, when I should be updating Saturday Mourning, huh? Don't worry your pretty little heads about that...I'll get to it soon. I've got a few other Nat'l Treasure story ideas I'm working with, and this one I felt like starting asap, so here I am. I think you'll like this one. :)

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own NT. I'd love to own Riley though, yep.  
By the way, the title...yeah, I couldn't think of anything. :(

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Riley Poole slowly opened his eyes, then shut them, shielding them from the overwhelming lights. He scrunched his face in disgust, all but upset at how annoyingly bright the strange lights seemed. He figured he must've been out for a good while, since he couldn't remember anything, though his mind felt confusingly unrested. He felt himself slipping back into black nothingness, engulfed in pure silence...

...then back out again. Though it was a comforting nothing, he peeked an eye open, then the other; blinking to make his vision clear. As the room came into view, he was suddenly very sensitive to the sounds surrounding him. They came in all at once, and it took him another few moments to relax into it. A low steady beeping. A now quiet conversation from across the hall. A slight rustling to his right.

He turned his head quickly, seeing that he was in fact, in a room. A white room. There was a small television perched up in the corner. And a nurse setting some things down on the table beside his firm, starchy bed. The woman had yet to notice him, and he kept quiet, unsure of what to think. He was in the hospital. That much he'd figured out. But why? And, for how long?

He glanced down at himself, tired eyes surveying the crisp blue blankets coating his gown-clad body. He flexed his fingers and grabbed at the blanket, pulling it up to warm him even more. For someone who hated hospitals, he was surprisingly calm.

"Oh, good. You're awake!" He heard someone exclaim.

He turned again, to see the nurse at his bedside. She was pretty, blonde and wore a sympathetic smile, looking rather glad that he'd woken up. He raised an eyebrow at her, nodding.

"How are you feeling?" Lost. And honest? He hadn't noticed the pain and soreness all over his body until now.

Yet, he ignored her question, and asked one of his own. "Who are you?"

"I'm Keltie Sanders. I'm your nurse." She explained, reaching for something on the table. He turned his head away and rested it on the uncomfortable pillow. "Are you in pain, Mr. Poole?"

"It's Riley."He corrected,not liking the formality, and shifted his weight to be more comfortable. "And, yes."

She sighed, smiling at him. "Don't you worry, Riley. You're going to be fine"."

"Thanks." Although he hadn't asked, it was just what he needed to hear. "I'm in the hospital...?"

She nodded at him, looking over one of the beeping machines. "You don't remember?" He sighed and shook his head at her. She glanced at him briefly, then back at the machine. "I'm going to get Dr. Hodge, okay? Let him know that you're up. He'll be glad to know it. He's been worried about you." She didn't see the strange look Riley gave her. "He'll explain everything .Just relax."

She turned around, heading for the door. "Oh, your friends are down in the cafeteria. I'm sure they'll be pleased to know you're awake now."

"My friends?"

She smiled again, walking out. "Just relax, honey."

Easier said than done. He was feeling slightly panicked now. He looked down at himself, again,observing that his right arm was covered in a cast. _So, broken bones. _He looked to his other arm, seeing the I.V. attached, and winced. He really hated hospitals. He fought the yawn approaching, and frowned. _Bruises...sore...hospital..._Something significant must've happened.

His head turned again, at the sound of approaching footsteps outside the door. "I don't know, I kind of liked it..." He heard a mysterious, feminine voice say. The voice's owner appeared not two seconds later in the doorway, a surprised look on her face. She gasped audibly, practically dropping the bag she was holding.

"Oh, my G- Ben!" She all but screamed, hurrying to her bedridden young friend. "Riley..."

He scrunched his eyebrow in obvious confusion. _And, this chick knows my name, how? _

This 'Ben' person entered, coming up to the bedside with a relieved look. "Riley..." He said breathlessly. " It's about time,kid."

"How are you feeling?" The female asked gently, setting the bag down on the table without moving her eyes away from him.

Riley kept the frown plastered on his face, eyeing them both in sheer confusion. "What's wrong?" The girl asked him. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" He asked. He reckoned if these people cared enough, they must have been able to answer some questions.

The two 'strangers' glanced at eachother, then back at Riley. "You were in an accident."

No, really? He could've guessed that. "What kind of accident?"

"Traffic. You--"

"I crashed my car?" He asked, hurriedly.

The woman nodded, pulling up a chair and taking a seat, close to the bed. Riley simply watched her with confused eyes. "Yeah. You've been out for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Since yesterday morning." Ben answered, standing in place behind the female; Hands perched steadily on the back of the chair. He looked his friend over carefully, taking note every scratch and bruise on the young man in question.

"Riley Poole?" Came a voice.

The three of them turned their heads towards the door, where in walked a man. He was rather short, thin, and had short black hair. Honestly, he looked about Ben's age. He gave them a pleasant smile; his eyes instantly floating over to the man in the bed.

"Hello." He said, holding his clipboard to one side.

"You're the doctor?" Riley asked, blinking.

"I am." He said, pointing to his name clip. "Dr. Robert Hodge, at your service."

_So, just to recap. Hospital. Car accident. Yesterday morning. A nurse. And, a doctor. _Riley questioned in his head, _Then who the hell are these people?_

The female one of those people looked to the doctor with a smile. Riley merely shook his head, not returning the gentle smile that the doctor had shot in his direction. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was in a traffic accident?" Riley stated, though it came out more as a question. How was he supposed to feel? This was all coming in way too fast for his mind to compute.

The doctor let a low laugh slip out from his lips, nodding. "I'm sure you do." He cleared his throat, then motioned over to the other two in the room. "We've been quite worried about you. I tell ya, son. You've got yourself a great couple of friends." Riley verted his eyes to the two, "They've been here since they got the call. Told 'em to go home and get some rest, but they decided to stay."

If Riley hadn't been so darn confused, then he would have been touched. It seemed like a nice gesture that they would opt to do that. But, not having known these people just made the entire situation crazy. The doctor must've noticed the look the young man had given them, and briefly turned to face them; then back at Riley.

"Is something the matter?"

Riley absent mindedly chewed on his bottom lip, a habit he'd picked up somewhere somehow when he was nervous.

Something in the doctor's head must've flicked on, because the look of confusion on his face lessened with question; And he turned to look at the two beside him once last, before turning his attention at the man in the bed. "Do you know these people?"

Abigail and Ben watched with unreadable expressions.

Riley eyed the doctor, then the other two for a moment, thinking hard. Maybe it would come to mind, if he tried hard enough. But, after half a minute of silence, he looked back at the doctor with a shake of his head. And that was it.

The doctor sighed, knowing the presence of the two had been making the young man uncomfortable. He turned to them with a sorry expression, motioning over to the door with his free hand. "Could you two please excuse us for a minute?"

Abigail looked as if she was about to protest, but Ben placed a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to calm down. They both gave another look to their friend, and left, shutting the door behind them.

And behind the door was their friend. And, their friend didn't remember them.

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A/N: Woot! This dingy is complete! I know the chapter was short, and they should be getting longer and longer. I hope you liked it so far. :)  
I'll try to update sometime this week. I'm going to be working on my other story, so yeah.

Leave a review? I heard you could do that, now.


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